Inside Higher Ed: The Right of Scholars, Writers and Artists to Freedom of Thought and Expression

Essays of A.K. Ramanujan   

More intrigue involving a scholar's work ... And possible censorship.

A revered scholarly publisher, Oxford Press, who should know better, did finally come to the right decision RE very popular(but lately controversial) works by the late Indian scholar,  A.K. Ramanujan.

Details here by Scott Jaschik from INSIDE HIGHER ED:

About-Face by Oxford Press

Just weeks after hundreds of scholars blasted Oxford University Press for ending publication of certain works that have become controversial in India, the press announced that it would republish the works, and distribute them in India and elsewhere.

Oxford made the announcement Friday in an e-mail to the scholars who signed a letter to the press expressing their anger over what was viewed as caving in to right-wing Indian nationalists who were offended by some of the work of the late A.K. Ramanujan. The author, during a career largely spent at the University of Chicago, was considered one of the most influential scholars of Indian cultures and literatures. The scholars charged that the press -- by stopping distribution of Ramanujan's works -- was engaged in scholarly "self-abasement."

Immediately after the scholars sent the letter, Oxford played down the dispute and said that the various works of Ramanujan were out of circulation for economic reasons, withdrawn due to "minimal sales," not due to any pressure in India. While the press offered to meet with the concerned scholars, officials indicated that there was no need to change any publishing decision.

But on Friday, the press reversed course. Its letter to scholars said: "Given the current concern expressed by members of the scholarly community about the availability of The Collected Essays and Many Ramayanas we have taken the decision to reprint both titles immediately and make them available in India and beyond. We are also making Questioning Ramayanas available again. All three titles are available to order from the OUP India website and bookshops across India."

The Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic revered by many Hindus. An essay by Ramanujan -- "Three Hundred Ramayanas" -- has infuriated some in India for references to Rama, a Hindu god, that were not consistent with right-wing Hindu beliefs. That dispute led Delhi University in October to agree to stop teaching the essay -- a move that Salman Rushdie said amounted to "academic censorship." And the controversy then led a group of scholars worldwide to demand that Oxford either start publishing the books again, including in India, or to give up copyright over the books so that others could publish them.

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More Than Just a Publisher

A great teacher and publisher with a mission in far off India has moved on to higher rewards.

Professor P. Lal fostered a vibrant literary movement in India in the late 1950's that has grown into a gateway for new Indian writers and translated many great classical Indian works into the English language...He almost single-handedly spurred 'new age writers of an emerging India to the global literary centrestage...'

P. Lal passed away on Nov 3 at age 81...But, not before leaving a giant footprint.

This from Sify India News:

P. Lal's demise marks end of an era in publishing

Every year at the Kolkata Book Fair, a gaggle of literary eager-beavers scouting for a door to the literary world would clutch their maiden published volume of poetry or prose bound in trademark red, white or beige cloth with an embroidered stripe running across the length of the jacket.

The cover textiles were sourced from Orissa saris and the title often calligraphed by hand. The design was distinctive and decidedly Indian. The ethnic cover of their books gave them away.

The youngsters' were part of a vibrant literary movement triggered by Writers' Workshop - an avant garde Kolkata-based private publishing house. And the man behind the publishing movement, which began in the late 1950s, was Professor Purushottam Lal, who passed away at the age of 81 in Kolkata on Nov 3.

He was a man with a mission - to pitchfork new age writers of an emerging India to the global literary centrestage and translate classical Indian language writing into English.

Some of the Writers' Workshop beneficiaries - to name a few - are Vikram Seth, Anita Desai, Shasthibrata Chakravarti, Buddhadev Bose, Jayanta Mahapatra and Keki Daruwalla.

The publishing house has 3,500 titles of poetry, novels and drama to its credit till date.

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Will New Thriller Make Indian Publishing History?

India is hungry for fiction writers! Apparently a big market has developed in India and they are eagarly seeking more commercial thriller fiction writers!

Have a good fiction thriller manuscript laying around? Send it to HarperCollins-India...

This plucked from IANS (Indo-Asian News Service):

The yet-to-be released thriller 'Johnny Gone Down' by Karan Bajaj is set to make publishing history with a first print run of 50,000 books, billed as one of the biggest ever in India for a work of fiction.

The thriller will be published by HarperCollins-India at an affordable price of Rs.99. 'It is the first time HarperCollins-India is aiming to achieve nearly 100,000 copies in a year with the first print run of 50,000 for an Indian author at such an attractive price,' Lipika Bhushan, head of marketing at HarperCollins-India, told IANS.

The book narrates the racy tale of 40-year-old Ivy League scholar, Nikhil Arya (aka Johnny), who is broke, homeless and minutes away from blowing his brains. An innocent vacation turns into an intercontinental journey that sees Nikhil first become a genocide survivor, then a Buddhist monk, a drug lord, a homeless accountant, a software mogul and a game fighter.

Bajaj is also the author of 'Keep off the Grass'. His new book is also being used by the publishing house as a brand emblem to promote mass market commercial fiction and thrillers with a multi-pronged publicity campaign, sources said.

A source at HarperCollins said: 'The publishing house was promoting commercial mass market fiction this year. It is a genre we have been promoting over the last couple of years very aggressively.'

'Books such as 'Almost Single', 'The Zoya Factor', 'Bombay Rains' and 'Keep off the Grass', 'Married But Available', 'Secrets and Lies', and very recently 'Keep the Change Year After Year' have been a series of titles from Indian authors for the Indian audience that end up doing big numbers,' Bhushan said.

The publisher is using the book as a 'brand symbol' for the genre of commercial thriller that is beginning to come of age in India with a new crop of young writers, who are fusing western classical thriller models with 'desi' sensibilities, sources at HarperCollins said.

The publishing house had earlier mounted a similar publicity blitz for Sam Bourne's thrillers in India.

'As Johnny, the protagonist, is an interesting character, the marketing drive is to get readers inquisitive about Johnny with a 'Who is Johnny Campaign'. The USP of the campaign that will roll out in the next two weeks will comprise a mix of great price point, quality content, advertising (all media) and retail level promotions, events, and heavy online promotion,' Bhushan said.

Author Bajaj said the novel was a 'deeper darker Forest Gump-ish adventure'.

'It relates the almost bizarre, almost surreal series of events that transform a pretty ordinary NASA scientist into a genocide survivor, then a Buddhist monk, a drug lord, a homeless accountant, software mogul and then a game fighter,' the writer told IANS.

Bajaj said he was inspired by both films and literature.

'I was influenced as much by the dark, gritty mood of films like 'Oldboy', 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Amores Perros' as by the incredible journey of 'Forrest Gump' (which is one of my favourite novels and a mighty decent film as well) and the surreal adventures of Sonchai Jitpleecheep, the Buddhist detective-protagonist of John Burdett's Bangkok novels, 'Bangkok 8', 'Bangkok Tattoo' and 'Bangkok Haunts',' he said.

For a book summary: 'Johnny Gone Down'